Woof Wear

Cornwall-based Woof Wear is at the forefront of protection for horse and rider with design and development at the heart of the brand. Woof Wear believe horses can be protected with boots that were light, durable and easy to care for.

For more than thirty years now Woof Wear has been at the forefront of equestrian protection and our products are being valued equally by leisure riders, professionals and even the Police Forces across the UK. Not least we are very proud to be the producer of the UK’s best selling general-purpose brushing boot!

Woof boots have been made in Cornwall since 1981, pioneered by Louise Woof the ‘Woof Boot’ was originally a brushing boot made from neoprene. This was a major innovation compared with the traditional leather brushing boot available at the time as it meant horses could be protected with boots that were light, durable and easy to care for. Today Cornwall-based Woof Wear is at the forefront of protection for horse and rider with design and development at the heart of the brand.

Izzy has the whole Woof Wear range at her disposal, she is able to try all of the products to work out which ones will be suitable for her team and horses. The horse range is now extremely wide, offering entry level boots right up to top of the range competition boots. I’m sure Izzy and Anna will agree that each horse is different, some require a softer more flexible boot whilst others require more technology incorporated protection. All of our horse boots are machine washable at 30 degrees and dry quickly, making them easy to look after and ensure they are clean and dry when they are needed again. Here at Woof Wear we also make a range for the rider, footwear, gloves, luggage and accessories. The event glove was designed with riders like Izzy in mind, it is a lightweight breathable glove, providing riders with optimal feel, grip and dexterity in all conditions.

Do you have new products out for 2017?

We had some exciting new products which came out at the end of 2016, Dressage wraps, Medical hoof boot, Riding wellies, Waffle Knit long and short riding socks.

We have some great plans for 2017, but at the moment I am unable to reveal what we are releasing, so watch this space.

Is it important to have the correct boots on for the discipline you are doing?

Many riders have a different boot for each different discipline, and others have one style of boot for all, it is really a personal choice.

Some boots are designed to be discipline specific and others are more generic, it doesn’t mean to say that you cannot use a double lock brushing boot to go eventing, there are simply others in the range which are designed to offer more all-round protection.

Tendon and Fetlock boots are designed with Showjumping in mind, they are open fronted, so the horse can feel the poles if he touches them, this encourages him to lift his legs higher over the next fence, the protection is mainly down the back (and side) of the boot in case the horse strikes into the back of the front leg with the hind foot.

An eventing boot is designed with 360 degree protection in mind, like the Showjumping boot it needs to protect the back of the legs, but it also needs to offer protection to the front of the legs. Event boots will often be slightly longer and incorporate a strong material such as Kevlar to offer a larger surface area of protection when jumping over brush fences.

The product that I most frequently seen incorrectly fitted is the double lock brushing boot, I think it comes from our pony club days of always being taught that the straps go to the back. With the double lock brushing boots the main supporting strap should go front to back, but the final locking strap should be secured towards the front. This video should help… https://youtu.be/8tyjrz4uAxk

In general the boot should work with the horse, it is important to make sure it is long enough to provide support but not too long that it inhibits the movements of the joints above and below the boot, a top tip for boots (especially those with a shell) is to check the length by lifting the horse’s leg as if you were picking out his foot. Check that the skin can wrinkle freely below the knee (one or two fingers distance below knee) and also check that when you flex the foot back towards the fetlock that it does not hit the boot.

“Woof Wear Ice Therapy Boots are so simple to use it makes my life so much easier. I use them mainly at 3 day events and at home for injuries, I love these boots and regularly use them for hot and cold. The great thing about the Ice Therapy Boots is they take all the hassle out of hot poulticing and old fashioned icing of a horse’s leg. I put the gel packs in the microwave and they are brilliant for bruises and in the freezer they stay malleable for use to cool the horse’s legs when necessary.” Anna Mildner – Head girl and travelling groom at Izzy Taylor eventing. Winner of ‘top groom’ award at Badminton 2016